"....everyone born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith. Who then overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God." 1 John 5:3-5

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"And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat." Leviticus 16:8

After all of the sins of the people were symbolically transferred onto the scapegoat it was further burdened with all marks of reproach, imprecations, and hate. After this the people prayed that all those evils which were due to themselves might fall upon the goat rather than on the sinners themselves even though scapegoating cannot clean a dirty conscience.

A dirty conscience, selfishness, self-indulgence and pride hinders and blinds the soul's vision of itself as it really is. Thus Truth and the revelation of its' own sin,

"...causes what it was trying to avoid seeing to be set before its eyes. What it had preferred to be hidden behind its back is now brought round and it is forced to confront it face to face." Formerly it had "looked at itself and been very pleased with itself and become a lover of its power. It had lost the ability to look honestly at its own actions and thus justified all its evil deeds. Through its selfishness and self-indulgence it became insolent (and) proud..." (St. Augustine, Sermon 142,3)

Under Sharia, women who have been raped can be stoned to death by their rapists. After living in Turkey for two years, with over a year spent living among the local nationals in the village of Adana, I know what evil lurks beneath such brutality: scapegoating.

Scapegoating occurs when the sinful refuse to accept personal responsibility for their own sins, which can run the gamut from self-centeredness, cowardice, hatred of truth, lust, gluttony, envy of another, coveting the property of another, or addiction to sex. Thus the guilty man or woman with the dirty conscience points the finger of blame at an innocent person, meaning the guilty project the responsibility for their own evils upon a scapegoat in order that they can crucify the innocent in place of themselves.

In the case of a woman who has been raped, her cowardly self-indulgent rapist obviously lacks self-control as well as holding both a contemptuous view of females and a self-gratifying superior sense of "self." Because he refuses to honestly look at his own evil thoughts and actions he both justifies them and projects the responsibility for them onto a scapegoat. Thus his sins are "not" his fault but that of the woman who happened to be in the wrong place at the right time. In other words, if it weren't for her none of this would have happened, meaning the rapist would not have done what he did if not for her. Moreover, rather than defending the innocent woman other men and yes, wives and mothers will support the crucifixion of the already victimized woman rather than the guilty who might be a son, husband or brother. All of them will close their eyes and ears to the stoning (murder) of the scapegoat because none of them will take personal responsibility for their own sins, which may include envy of the victim.

"Truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. The LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice." Isaiah 59:15

Here in America, we witness the rapid rise of a scapegoating society because a majority of Americans (a consensus) within and without the Christian Church reject the eternally unchanging Truth and Moral Law of the Triune God in favor of their own sovereign, yet morally relative "sacred opinions" and "choices." Thus they refuse to accept personal responsibility for their own sins but rather freely scapegoat other people who they unjustly accuse of hate, homophobia, racism, sexism, intolerance, hate speech, fear-mongering, and mental illness. Thus homosexuals scapegoat "hateful homophobic" straight males and females, pedophiles scapegoat parents trying to protect their own children from sexual psychopaths, haters of truth (liars) scapegoat the truthful, the indecent scapegoat the decent, the envious crucify the human objects of their envy, the thief and murderer scapegoat their victims, and sinful self-indulgent unfaithful Christians scapegoat faithful Christians.

Where a majority are not guilty of their own evils, scapegoats are necessary. Human scapegoats will be burdened with the evils of the guilty and crucified on the altars of the self-centered, self-indulgent, and proud. Scripture calls this idolatry.

Projection of our own sins onto a scapegoat does not take away our sin nor cleanse our conscience, and to die in our sin means eternal outer darkness:

"For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and fornicators, and murderers, and idolaters, and whoever loves and makes a lie." Revelation 22:15

Moreover, selfish, self-indulgent Christians living in sin must never "think that a dead or disobedient faith" will save them said Matthew Henry,

"....for the First and the Last has declared that those alone are blessed who do his commandments." Revelation, "is a book that shuts out from heaven all wicked and unrighteous persons, particularly those who love and make lies, therefore cannot itself be a lie. There is no middle place or condition. Jesus, who is the Spirit of prophecy, has given his churches this morning-light of prophecy, to assure them of the light of the perfect day approaching. All is confirmed by an open and general invitation to mankind, to come and partake freely of the promises and of the privileges of the gospel. The Spirit, by the sacred word, and by convictions and influence in the sinner's conscience, says, Come to Christ for salvation; and the bride, or the whole church, on earth and in heaven, says, Come and share our happiness. Lest any should hesitate, it is added, Let whosoever will, or, is willing, come and take of the water of life freely. May every one who hears or reads these words, desire at once to accept the gracious invitation. All are condemned who should dare to corrupt or change the word of God, either by adding to it, or taking from it." Matthew Henrys' Concise Commentary